Sports

Braves baseball finishes fifth at state

By Tyler Ohmann

06/05/2012

A storied season for Bottineau Braves baseball ended last Saturday with a fifth place finish at the Class B State Tournament in Jamestown.

The Braves, who finished the season 20-4, beat defending champion Kindred-Richland 5-1 to take the consolation title.

Bottineau narrowly lost in the opening round to Washburn-Wilton-Center-Stanton (WWCS) in the opening round last Thursday.

It was a game of missed opportunities according to Braves Head Coach Nate Simpson, whose Braves played in their third consecutive state tournament.

“A lot of people will put it on the seventh inning, and they did put up four runs in the seventh inning, and we gave way too many outs that inning,” Simspon said. “But I even look back a couple innings before when we had runners in scoring position with nobody out and we couldn’t get them home, and we just didn’t execute to give Mark (LaCroix) a bit bigger cushion.”

LaCroix took his first loss of the season after entering the contest 7-0.

The senior allowed only one hit and no runs through six innings, but gave up four runs, two of them earned in the final frame. He struck out 11 in the losing effort.

The Braves scored twice in the bottom of the seventh, but were unable to catch the Cardinals.

“A one to nothing lead over Washburn, they’ve overcome that before, and they played well in the seventh and we didn’t execute. That’s what it boils down to,” Simpson said.

Senior Kirk Sailer improved to 6-0 with the win, he gave up three runs (two earned) in seven innings, walking three and striking out seven in the process. It was the second time Sailer bested Bottineau, he also got the win in an 8-4 WWCS win earlier in the season.

“This team right here, I still think that if we take away that half inning, that we come away with a state title,” LaCroix said. “We beat one of the best teams in the state, when we beat (Nick) Milbrandt, and honestly, I think we can beat anybody in the state.”

Sophomore Andrew Hill and senior Ging Martin each had hits and walks in the game. Hill scored a run in the seventh after hitting a lead off double. Martin had an RBI in the inning.

“It was pretty tough, especially being my last state tournament,” LaCroix said. “A lot of people point to that half inning, but we came back and put runners on in the bottom half. A bloop hit and we are still moving on, but it just wasn’t meant to be.”

Bottineau responded to the loss which put them out of contention for a state title by rattling off two consecutive wins to take fifth place.

On Friday, day two, the Braves blew past Hatton-Northwood 9-0 after a seven-run fourth inning.
Senior Justin McCloud scattered five hits and struck out six in the complete game win. He also went 2-for-5 at the plate with four runs batted in (RBI).

Freshman Brock Hiltner added three hits and an RBI for the Braves, while senior Cody Brooks went 2-for-4 with two RBI.

In the final game against the defending champs, the Braves jumped out to an early lead scoring a pair of runs in the first and third innings.

Bottineau would add one more in the fourth while McCloud and LaCroix would combine for the win. LaCroix started the game and tossed five innings, allowing only a single run on three hits and he struck out nine Vikings.

Both LaCroix and McCloud had a pair of RBI, while Hill went 3-for-3 with two runs scored.
Nick Milbrandt, who was named Senior Athlete of the Year, took the loss for the Vikings.

“It was awesome to beat the defending state champions in Kindred,” LaCroix said. “Especially facing Nick Milbrandt, who is one heck of a pitcher, and we ended up beating him too. It was a great way to end a state tournament.”

Simpson too was glad the boys finished strong.

“I was real happy with how the guys responded, and I could tell after that loss that the kids that had been in the state tournament before, that it bothered them the most of any loss I’ve seen,” Simpson said. “Apparently it didn’t affect them that much, because we came back and took care of Hatton-Northwood, and then beat the defending state champs.”

Simpson was glad the Braves were able to end the season with a win.

“I think they didn’t want to go out on a bad note,” Simpson said. “To come out and get two wins at the state tournament, not a lot of teams can say they did that.”

The Braves took fifth place in 2011 as well, and Simpson was proud of the accomplishments that the team made during 2012 also.

“We had a goal this year to win the state championship, and not every team can realize their goals and I understand that, but the kids had that target on their backs and they responded all year,” Simpson said. “After Bishop Ryan beat us in the region, we responded and to beat two teams at state, I’m extremely happy and proud of the season we had.”

The Braves will graduate five seniors, whom all started, including McCloud and LaCroix who were named to the All-State Tournament Team.

“It felt awesome,” LaCroix said. “It means that we had great coaching and great teammates throughout the years. It has definitely been a ride and it is an honor.”

Simpson thinks the legacy of players like LaCroix and McCloud will leave a mark.

“We’ve done a lot of good things for Bottineau baseball in the last three years, and I attribute a lot of that to the senior class and their attitudes and their leadership,” Simpson said. “We made it to three state tournaments in a row and a lot of that is on the shoulders of the five seniors we graduate this year.”

Simpson dubbed kids like LaCroix and McCloud as irreplaceable, though he hopes they rubbed off on the younger players.

“You can’t replace some kids, they are just not replaceable,” Simpson said. “But what you can hope to do is emulate what they did on the practice field, their pregame approach and what they did to get ready for competition.”

“That’s what I told them after the game is that we had a lot of younger, impressionable kids that looked up to these guys for a long time, and now it’s their turn to take that leadership role, and their approach and leadership has to be the same,” Simpson continued. “They aren’t going to be able to do things that a Justin McCloud or a Mark LaCroix can do, and I understand that, but as long as their approach and attitude is the same as what they had, I think we’re going to be OK.”

WWCS went on to lose to both Grafton and Lewis & Clark to finish in fourth place.

“I’m going to miss it, especially coach Simpson and Erickson, because I’m never going to have those guys as my coach again, but having those guys really taught me a lot,” LaCroix said. “I am looking forward to the college level next year, and hopefully it goes well.”

Notes:

•  McCloud was named to the All-Tournament team and broke school records for most runs and most RBI in a season.
•  Cody Brooks broke the BHS record for most home runs in a career
•  LaCroix earned records in most pitching wins in a season and most career pitching wins. He was also named team Most Valuable Player and best hustler, as voted on by his teammates.“We definitely rechanged it,” LaCroix said of the record books. “It shows that we were a good team, and we can honestly beat anybody in the state.”
•  The team voted Brody Moum, a freshman, as the most improved player. Moum was the Braves starting left fielder.